Aldus and Altsys reach settlement
Lorin_...@altsys.com
Aldus and Altsys reach settlement
Aldus Corporation
411 First Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98104-2871
(206) 622-5500
Media contacts: Brad Stevens (206) 628-2361
Altsys Corporation
269 West Renner Parkway
Richardson, TX 75080
(214) 680-2060
Media contact: Melinda Conkling
Springbok Technologies
(214) 480-9458
SEATTLE, July 14, 1994 -- Aldus Corporation (NASDAQ:ALDC) and Altsys
Corporation of Richardson, Texas, today announced that they have
reached a settlement of litigation pending in Federal District Court
in Dallas, Texas. The settlement with Altsys includes an amendment
to the license agreement between Aldus and Altsys with respect to
Aldus continued marketing of Aldus FreeHand, an illustration and
design software program for microcomputers.
Those modifications which become effective upon the closing of the
merger between Aldus and Adobe principally provide that upon the
termination of the license agreement in July 1995, Aldus will
transfer certain assets relating to Aldus FreeHand to Altsys,
including all of its interests in the FreeHand name and documentation,
foreign translations, and access to the FreeHand user mailing list.
Aldus also has agreed that for the balance of the license term
through July 1995, it will abide by certain rules and procedures
intended to assure Altsys that the marketing of Aldus FreeHand will
remain separate and distinct from, and competitive with, the marketing
of Adobe Illustrator, a similar program currently sold by Adobe.
After the license termination in July 1995, Aldus will not be
restricted from distributing a product which is competitive to
FreeHand.
The settlement also contains terms with respect to the possible
continuation of the license in the event that the merger does not
occur.
The settlement is very fair and removes one obstacle to completing
our merger with Adobe, said Paul Brainerd, president of Aldus. Our
agreement should provide for a smooth transfer of FreeHand to
Altsys. In the meantime, we intend to aggressively market and
support FreeHand during the remainder of the license agreement.
Altsys has been a pioneer in the graphics software industry, as
evidenced by our creation of Fontographer in 1986 and FreeHand in
1987, said Jim Von Ehr, president & CEO of Altsys Corporation. We
are pleased with the careful steps we have taken with Aldus to
ensure the smooth transition of FreeHand to Altsys. Altsys is
totally committed to the success of FreeHand, and we plan to keep
our worldwide customers very happy. Founded in 1984, Richardson
Texas-based Altsys Corporation is a world leader in font-editing
and graphics software. Altsys publishes Fontographer 4.0 for
Macintosh and Fontographer 3.5 for Microsoft Windows, Altsys
Font-o-matic for Windows and Macintosh, Metamorphosis Professional
and EPS Exchange for Macintosh, and Virtuoso for NextStep and
Solaris. Altsys has been the developer of Aldus FreeHand since its
creation in 1986.
Aldus Corporation, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, creates
computer software solutions that help people throughout the world
effectively communicate information and ideas. The company focuses
on three main lines of business: applications and services for the
professional publishing, prepress, and video markets; applications
and services for the general consumer market; and new software tools
for the emerging interactive publishing market. Aldus has subsidiaries
in Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Rim serving a worldwide network
of dealers and distributors.
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Aldus, the Aldus logo, and FreeHand are registered trademarks of
Aldus Corporation. Fontographer, Metamorphosis, and EPS Exchange
are registered trademarks of Altsys Corporation. Other product and
corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of other
companies and are used for identification to their owners benefit,
without intent to infringe.
Lorin Rivers
Virtuoso Product Manager
Altsys Corporation
269 W. Renner Parkway
Richardson, Texas 75080
214.680.2060
Lorin_...@altsys.com (NeXT Mail Expected)
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